From script to shoot: The story of how Kaala came into being

Later, Rajinikanth received an almost final script and recalled it to be the first Tamil film script he received in several decades. After some hesitation, Rajini agreed to the film. And after seeing it, he congratulated Ranjith as he had proved himself as a director.

After Kabali, the hunt for the next script began. In a casual jibe, Rajini asked his daughter (also Dhanush’s wife) Aishwarya if they would produce a film with him. Dhanush immediately agreed and a narration session with Vetrimaaran also happened. But despite being a good script, Rajini didn’t agree as he felt the film was “too political”. The gap was lengthening and he decided to call Ranjith again. But this time, Rajini was sure that it had to be a commercial film. If Kabali had been Ranjith’s film, this had to be both Ranjith’s and Rajini’s film. While the initial idea was to make a sequel to Kabali, Rajini suggested the idea of making a film set in Mumbai and thus, Kaala was born.

Also Read: Before Kaala, here are films where Rajinikanth was the ‘Otha Thala Ravan’

“Ranjith went to Mumbai for three months and came back with Kaala. Ranjith would not end his life as a director. He isn’t selfish. He wants to do good for his community, people and everyone around him. I have never met anyone who feels so deeply at his age. I have had two formidable villains until now – Baasha’s Antony and Padayappa’s Neelambari. Now we have one more. I was so excited with Nana Patekar on board. It’s a very different film and I believe that it would work. Ranjith is a producer’s director,“ he said.